Rare 1940 Ford front a rare option offered by JC Whitney in the 70′s. This was a rare dealerinstalled item by the selling dealer when brand new! These were rare 40 years ago. This is the first one I have seen in years. Very well done, it also has the rare wood trim option of that period. It is a real head turner wherever I go with this neat little car. It alsi has some vety basic but imortant improvements such as disc brake syesem installed recently with 4 new wider tires and wheels that give it a great look, but more important improve the ride dramatically. This VW convertible runs and drives absilutely terrific with wonderful road handling characteristics far superior than original. Also, has a Hust shifterthat makes shifting and driving this great looking Volkswagen a pleasure.

I am having a new brown top, pads and headliner installed now. Paint is beautiful, as is the original interior and uholstery. Window glass, trim, chrome, bumpers, glass are all excellent. The body and floors are rocksolid and original.

16 Responses to “Hemmings Find of the Day – 1974 Volkswagen Beetle”

I’ll give the seller an “A” for writing an exuberant ad, (not for spelling) but I was around 40 years ago, and these bolt on mods from J.C. Whitney and others weren’t all that rare. Unusual yes, and the Bug has always been able to pull off these impersonations with a bit of tongue in cheek aplomb. That said, this is a nice looking example that will be fun to drive.

“Tongue in cheek aplomb” indeed. There is a yellow one of these around these parts with the Ford nose, see it from time to time. much like the fake MG’s with a VW engine in the trunk..Why? Your can buy a drivable decent REAl 1940 Ford or a decent real early 50″s MG for around this asking price.. Bet those would draw more attention and admiration than this thing.

I must have been hiding under a rock but I don’t recal seeing any VWs with the 40 Ford look. Lots with the Rolls Royce front end though. While this is the best example of either that I’ve seen, I still prefer them stock. If I wanted a car that resembled a ’40 Ford Deluxe, it would have to have the rest of the genuine article to go with it. Yeah, I’m fussy.

In the Atlanta, Ga. area back in the 70s these conversions weren’t rare at all. I remember seeing them all the time. I always thought these fake fronts were kind of a perfect idea, but I never knew anything about them. I was more of a 1969 Firebird 400 kind of guy.

I did a little research just now and it appears that the major manufacturer of these fake fronts was Wunderbug/Liefring Industries. Interestingly enough there is a company STILL making them in Wisconsin: Spectre BGW. All these things, past and present, seem to be fiberglass.

Beetles are a great entry into classic cars. Had a friend whose father required him to completely disassemble a beetle, name and explain all the major components and reassemble the car before he was permitted to drive. The kooky experiment paid off and that guy could fix anything! Furthermore, I like weird cars in general and this kit in particular. But $23K? $23? This site currently has a couple of decent-looking real ’40 Fords in the high teens. Seems for just a little more you could end up with both a real ’40 Ford and a real Beetle.